Carry On
by WHOA laicey
Summary: Sharpay's friendship with queen bee Gabriella ended on a night she can't bear to remember, and she is now an outsider at her school. Until she meets Troy, and develops a close bond with him. She lets him in, which she doesn't do with any other person.
1. Chapter 1

_**I probably shouldn't be starting a new story, considering I already haven't updated Don't Forget To Breathe in five months (oops!). But I've been really itching to start this one. And I'm really excited about it. So yeah, enjoy. :)**_

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><p><em>Dear Diary, <em>

_Lately everything feels strange to me, as if I don't belong here. I just feel so out of place. And the worst thing is that I know the place that I belong to, but I just don't think I can go there anymore._

_Ryan left yesterday. He's moving uptown, and transferring to some preppy boarding school called Callcry Academy. I could've gone with him, but when the time came, near the end of spring, to choose whether I wanted transfer or stay here, I chose here. I've been regretting that decision more and more each day._

_I skipped out on Orientation on Friday. I've been skipping out on everything. I've been doing everything I possibly can to avoid seeing Gabriella. And unfortunately, that meant spending pretty much the entire summer hauled up in my room. _

_I guess I've got to see her today, though. And honestly, I'm scared._

Sharpay stopped writing. She stared at the last line she wrote and frowned. With a fluid motion, she closed her diary and toss it on the floor. She closed her eyes in frustration, and laid back on her bed.

This was all so ridiculous.

Since when had she been scared of anything? She was Sharpay Evans, one of the most popular students at East High, the fashion trendsetter, the high school senior, one of those girls who every guy wanted and every girl wanted to be.

Or at least, she thought she was that girl. She wasn't even sure anymore.

She stood up and angrily walked over to her closet, and scavenged for something to wear. She found the morning ritual of getting dressed to be soothing, and she knew it would calm her down. She finally chose a short white dress with braided straps and brown ankle boots.

Sharpay walked over to her cherrywood dresser and glanced up at her elaborate Victorian mirror. She was immediately struck by the sheer oddness of seeing her mirror-self. The mirror showed a cool, confident Sharpay that didn't look nearly as worn out as real Sharpay felt. On the inside she was a mess, but the girl in the mirror—she was fine. You could tell in the way she stared out at the world so confidently, with a secret smile on her face.

Today is gonna be fine, she thought. Her earlier fears melted away, forgotten.

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><p><strong><em>Sorry, this is so short. It's just a little introduction. <em>****_If you want me to continue, you should review. ;)_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**I apologize if this chapter sucks. I was slacking on writing it, so I just finished it up really quickly today.**_

_**Also, I probably should mention that this story is based on/inspired by "Just Listen" by Sarah Dessen. So if you read that book you'll notice many similarities. But still I'm gonna change it up on certain parts.**_

_**And I'm pretty sure I don't need to say this, but as a disclaimer: i do not own High School Musical or its characters.**_

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><p>Sharpay had the entire summer to prepare to see Gabriella. But when it actually happened she realized she still wasn't ready.<p>

She sat in the parking lot before the first bell, trying to muster up enough courage to get out of the car. All the fears she thought she had suppressed earlier, had since crept back into her mind. As people streamed past her, talking and laughing, en route to the main building, she kept working out all the maybes in her head. Maybe Gabriella was over it now. Maybe something else had happened over the summer to replace their little drama. Maybe it was never as bad as she thought it was.

All of these were long shots, but still possibilities.

Sharpay sighed, in discontent. She sat there a few moments longer, before finally drawing the keys out of the ignition. When she turned for the window, reaching for the door handle, Gabriella was right there. A small gasp escaped from Sharpay's mouth.

For a moment, they just started at each other. Sharpay instantly noticed that Gabriella was no longer wearing the friendship bracelet that she'd given her. She felt her heart sink, as she absent mindedly toyed with her own bracelet, which was the match to Gabriella's. She wondered if this was Gabriella's way of telling her that their friendship no longer meant anything to her.

Just as she thought this, Gabriella opened her mouth, narrowed her eyes, and delivered the verdict Sharpay had spent all summer dreading.

"Bitch."

The glass between them didn't muffle the sound or the reaction of the people who overheard.

Gabriella remained expressionless as she turned her back and started walking towards the school. Sharpay's face flushed, she could feel people staring. She wasn't ready for this. Stuff like this wasn't supposed to happened to her. All she wanted was go back home and hide in her room.

But she had no choice but to get out of her car, with everyone watching.

…

When Sharpay was on her way to the cafeteria, she looked down the hall to the main staircase and saw Taylor McKessie come towards her. Their eyes met, but only fleetingly. Then Taylor was moving on, down the hall to where Gabriella was waiting for her.

Since Taylor had her friend first, Sharpay had thought maybe, just maybe, she still might be. Apparently not. The lines had been drawn, and she now knew for sure that she was standing outside of them.

Sharpay had other friends, of course. She was after all, the second most popular girl in school, behind Gabriella. It was becoming clear, though, that her self-imposed isolation had been more effective than she'd realized. Right after everything happened, she'd cut herself off entirely, figuring that was safer than risking people judging her. She blew off phone calls and avoided people when she saw them out at the mall or the movies. She didn't want to talk about what had happened, so it seemed safest not to talk at all. The result, however, was that now all morning, when she'd stopped to say hello to girls she knew, or walked up to groups of people chatting, she'd felt an instant coolness and distance, one that lingered until she made excuses to walk away. Back in May, all she'd wanted was to be alone. Now she'd gotten her wish.

Her association with Gabriella didn't help, either. Hanging out with her made her a party to all her various social crimes and misdemeanors—and there were many—so there was a wide portion of the student body that was not exactly rushing to embrace her. To the girls Gabriella had insulted and isolated while she stood by doing nothing, her own taste of this medicine was nothing short of deserved. If Gabriella couldn't be ostracized, Sharpay was the next best thing.

She sighed in defeat. She wished Ryan was here. He honestly couldn't have picked a worst time to transfer schools.

She headed down the main hall, stopping right in front of the cafeteria. The various cliques were scattered across the room at their respective tables. Everyone had place, once Sharpay had known hers: the table in the center of the room, where Gabriella and Taylor sitting. Now she was wondering if she should even go in there at all.

Her face flushed as she saw Gabriella was actually watching her. When their eyes met, Gabriella smiled a thin-lipped smile, shaking her head before looking away.

_Pathetic_, Sharpay heard her say in her head, then pushed this thought away. She turned away from the cafeteria, en route to the parking lot. One day, she would be confident again. One day, she would be able to once again look Gabriella in the face without fear. That day just wasn't today.

Sharpay pulled out her phone to send a quick text to Ryan:

_Ry. I'm having the worst day ever ): call me later.  
><em>_Xo, Shar._

Because her eyes were cast down at her phone, she didn't even notice Troy Bolton coming to towards her, until it was too late. They crashed into each other, causing Sharpay to stumble backwards. She shrieked out in fear, as she felt herself falling.

"Oh, shoot." Troy's quick reflexes came in handy, as he swiftly caught her by her waist before she fell completely. "I'm sorry," he said, looking her right in the eye.

"It's alright, Troy. I'm fine," Sharpay said, as she stood herself back up into an upright standing position. After the horrible day she'd been having, getting knocked over was the least of her worries.

Troy studied her, as she smoothed out any visible wrinkles on her dress. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you all summer."

After a moment, Sharpay glanced up at him. He had to have heard about what happened the previous May. Everyone had. As the seconds passed and he still waited for answer, she wondered if maybe he actually hadn't heard, thus possibly making him the only person in school who didn't hate her guts. If that was the case, she was in no position to pass it up. Finally she just said, "Oh, you know. I've been around."

After Troy gave her a brief summary of his summer, Sharpay reeled over the fact that this was longest conversation she'd had all day, and then tried quickly to push that thought away when she realized how pathetic it sounded, even if it was just in her head.

Troy grinned easily at her. "Well, it's nice to see you Sharpay. I'll see you around."

"Okay. Bye Troy!" Sharpay chirped excitedly, giving him a small wave as he turned to walk away. With everyone else in school giving her the cold shoulder, she was pleased to know that at least Troy still liked her. That was enough to make her feel a little more confident.

She watched Troy go down the hall and turn in to the cafeteria. _Not confident enough to set foot in that cafeteria, though,_ she thought, turning on her heel and continuing on her way to the parking lot.

For the rest of lunch, she just sat in her car. When she checked her clock and saw she had only five minutes to go, she started to get out of the car when she heard car pull into the spot next to hers. She glanced up to see a red Jeep. The passenger door opened and a dark-haired guy climbed out, grabbing a backpack out of the car floor, as he ducked down to say something to the driver. Sharpay recognized him as Jason Cross, he played on the basketball team with Troy. He was notorious for being late to school all the time, which explained why he was just getting here, even though the day was half over. As he shut the door and started to walk away, Sharpay got a look at the driver. It was Will Stryker.

She felt her stomach drop. Everything narrowed, the sounds around her falling away as her palms sprang into a sweat, her heartbeat loud in her ears.

She couldn't stop staring at him. He was just sitting there, one hand on the wheel, his eyes cast down on his cell phone.

A million red Jeeps must have passed before her eyes in the last few months, and despite herself she'd checked each one for his face, this face. But only now, here, was it actually him. And while she had told herself that in broad daylight she could be strong and fearless, she felt as helpless as that night. As if even in the wide open, the bright light of day, she still wasn't safe.

Will glanced up from his phone, and Sharpay watched his eyes move across the parking lot. Then his eyes stopped moving when they landed on her.

Sharpay just stared at him, her heart pounding in her chest. It only lasted a second, and she saw no recognition, nothing on his face but a blank stare, as if she were a stranger, just anyone. Then he was moving forward. The car now a red blur, as he zoomed out of the parking lot.

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><p><strong><em>Questions? Comments? Suggestions? That's what reviews are for, my friends.<em>**

**_By the way, I envision Will Stryker looking like Alex Pettyfer (from I Am Number Four and Beastly). Just letting you know, in case you were by chance wondering what he looks like. :D_**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey everyone. Sorry for the wait on this chapter. I was having computer troubles.**_

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><p>"Good afternoon, pumpkin," Sharpay's mother, Darby Evans, greeted her daughter as soon as she walked through the front door.<p>

Sharpay cringed at her mother's cheeriness. Her happy voice was a complete contrast to how Sharpay felt, after enduring what had to be the worst first day of school in the history of ever. "Hi mom," she said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Hello to you, too, Boi," Sharpay cooed to the small terrier Darby was carrying in her arms. She carefully took the small dog out of her mother's arms and scooping him into her own. "Did you miss me today?" she asked him.

Boi growled softly in response. Throughout Sharpay's lonely, isolated days of summer, Boi had often been her only companion. Ryan and her parents had been there for her in the beginning, but they all had their own stuff going on. They didn't have time to sit around and watch her sulk all day.

"I'm making your favorite for dinner, dear," Darby said, in a sing-song voice. "Spinach ravioli."

"Great," she said, setting Boi down on the floor. "Scoop me some into a bowl and I'll take it upstairs."

"Actually, Sharpay," her mother continued. "I was hoping we could sit in the dining room and eat. Together."

"Oh," Sharpay said, sounding less than enthused. She wasn't in the mood to sit in the dining room. All she wanted to do was go upstairs and crawl into bed. "Gee, I'd love to, mom. But it's been a really crappy day and–"

"Honey, I know," Darby said, as if she actually did know, which she didn't. As far she knew, Sharpay and Gabriella had just drifted apart; Sharpay couldn't imagine she would think if she knew the real story. Actually, she could imagine, which is why she no intentions of telling her. "But with your brother gone and your father working late tonight, I thought it would be nice for us to spend some time together, just us girls."

Sharpay glanced at the mirror on the wall closest to her, taking in her flushed face, flat hair, and slight redness around her eyes, the result of breaking down in tears after seeing Will Stryker in the parking lot. She looked as hopeless as she felt. "You don't understand," she said as she looked back over in her mother's direction. "I'm really tired, I need to go lie down–"

"Oh, Sharpay," Darby said, pulling her daughter into her arms for a hug. Sharpay felt a lump rise in her throat, reacting to her mother's soft, understanding tone and warm embrace. Her sympathy was so welcome after this long, awful day. "How about this. You can go upstairs, take a shower, and put on your pajamas. Then after we eat dinner, you can go to bed."

"All right," Sharpay agreed, quietly. Although the deal was not much different from the original proposition, it at least sounded better. Besides, saying no now would just make her unreasonable.

"Good girl," Darby said, patting Sharpay's arm softly, before releasing her from the embrace and heading into the kitchen.

...

"So I'm guessing from your 'I'm having the worst day ever' text that things didn't go well with Gabriella," Ryan was saying.

"You're a terrific guesser, Ry," Sharpay said dryly, switching her phone from one ear to the other, as she stretched out across her bed. Her mother had let her go to bed as soon as she finished her ravioli, like she promised. She had just collapsed onto bed, ready to fall into a deep sleep when her brother called.

"Maybe this is for the best," Ryan continued. "Well, not maybe. I _know _this is for the best. Gabriella Montez is terrible person. I don't know why you were ever friends with her in the first place. I say, screw her."

Sharpay rolled her eyes, waiting for Ryan's Gabriella-bashing rant to end. She knew that he didn't like her–heck, most people didn't like her–and it wasn't as if he didn't have good reason not to, but Sharpay had only stopped being friends with her a short while ago. She wasn't ready to start ripping on her yet.

"Ryan, I know you don't like her but–"

"But what?"

"Nothing." Sharpay sighed in defeat. She didn't want to fight with him. She already had a long list of people at school who hated her, she was in no position to have her brother hate her too. "Enough about me. How was _your_ day?"

...

_It was the summer before sixth grade. Sharpay was at the neighborhood pool, standing in line at the snack bar, when she felt someone step up behind her. She turned her head, and there was a girl she didn't recognize standing there. She had olive skin and curly dark hair, and was wearing a bright blue bikini, along with black sunglasses and a bored, impatient expression. She was about the same age as Sharpay, which is why Sharpay was so thrown off by the fact she'd never seen her before. All the kids around the neighborhood knew each other, it was like this girl had just fallen out the sky._

"_What?" she said to Sharpay, who apparently had been staring. "What are you looking at?"_

_Sharpay flinched at the tone of her voice. She wasn't accustomed to people raising their voices at her. "Nothing," she said, and turned back around._

_When she looked up and saw that she was next in line, she quickly ordered two iced teas and handed the guy working at the snack bar her money. While he poured her drinks, Sharpay could still feel the girl behind her, her presence like a weight. After she grabbed her drinks, she walked away, careful not to look back at the girl again as she made her made her way back to where her best friend Taylor was waiting._

"_My mom just called," Taylor said, as Sharpay handed her one of the drinks. "She said she'll come pick us up around closing time. I told her that if we get bored before that we'll just walk home."_

"_Okay," Sharpay said, taking a sip of her iced tea. It was only after she sat down in her chair that she finally allowed herself to look at the girl in the blue bikini again. She had left the snack bar and was standing at the far side of the pool, surveying the layout of bench chairs, looking for somewhere to sit._

_Sharpay glanced back over at Taylor, who was laid back on her chair, flipping through a Tiger Beat magazine. _

_Taylor had been her best friend since they were six years old. When Taylor's family moved here, their moms met a pilates class. As soon as they realized their kids were the same age, they put them together, and they'd stayed that way ever since._

"_Can you hand me my sunglasses, Shar?" Taylor asked, squinting in the sunlight. "I put them in your bag."_

_Sharpay nodded, reaching down to get her hot pink shoulder bag of the pavement next to her chair. She took out Taylor's glasses, which were sitting right on top, and handed them over. Taylor smiled up appreciatively at her, as she popped them on. Sharpay took her own shades, from where they were comfortably sitting on top of her head, and pulled them down over her eyes. Following Taylor's lead, she pulled a magazine out of her bag and laid back. She wasn't going to let some stranger ruin her day. _

_The next day at the pool, the girl was back, this time in a silver bikini. When Sharpay and Taylor got there, she was already set up in one of the chairs by the deep end. Sharpay tried to ignore this as she and Taylor got settled in their spot. When she'd told her mom about the girl and her little run-in with her, she told Sharpay to try to reach out to her and be nice because she was new in town and probably didn't know how to make friends. Sharpay didn't see how that was her problem though. Especially after the girl had been so rude to her._

"_I'm gonna go get a lemonade," Sharpay said, as she stood up from her chair. "You want anything?"_

_Taylor shook her head. "I'm good."_

_As she walked over to the snack bar, she noticed the new girl was up and heading towards the snack bar too. Great. _

_Sharpay got to there first, and asked the guy at the counter for lemonade, setting the money on the counter. When he handed her the lemonade, Sharpay had ever intention of just zooming off, back over Taylor. But then she remembered, how she promised her mom she'd be polite._

_As soon as the girl was done at the snack bar, Sharpay walked up to her. She knew what she had to do. Here goes nothing, she thought._

"_Hi," she said. The girl just looked at her, her expression was vacant. "I'm Sharpay. You just moved here, right?"_

_She didn't say anything for what seemed for a really long while. Sharpay saw out of the corner of her eye, that her brother and some other boys from their class had just arrived at the pool. Ryan was about to walk over to her but stopped when he saw she was talking to some girl he'd never seen before._

"_I," Sharpay continued, even more uncomfortable now that Ryan was standing there, watching. "I think we're in the same grade."_

_The girl raised an eyebrow at her. "So?" she said, in the same sharp, snide tone she had the first time she'd spoken to her._

"_So, I just thought," Sharpay said, "that since, you know, we're the same age, and we'll probably be in school together, you might want to hang out. Or something."_

_Another long pause. "So, you're saying," she started, as if clarifying. "You want me to hang out. With you."_

_She made it sound so ridiculous, Sharpay immediately began backtracking. "Well, no. I mean, not if you don't want to. I was just–"_

"_No," the girl cut her off. Then she threw her head back and laughed. "No way."_

_Sharpay's face flushed. If she had been alone, that would've been it. She would've just turned around and walked back over to her spot with Taylor, pretending this whole charade had never happened. But she wasn't alone._

"_Hold on," Ryan suddenly said, his voice loud. "What did you just say?"_

_The girl turned. When she saw Ryan, her eyes widened. "What?" she said, and Sharpay couldn't help but notice how different her voice sounded, compared to how it was when she talked to her._

"_I said," Ryan repeated, his own voice sharp. "what did you just say to her?"_

_Uh-oh, Sharpay thought. Ryan always made her nervous when he switched into big brother mode._

"_Nothing," the girl replied, "I just–"_

"_That's my sister," Ryan said, pointed at Sharpay, "and you were just a total ass to her."_

_By this point, Sharpay was already both cringing and blushing. Ryan, however, was waggling an index finger in the girls face, which meant he was just getting started._

"_I wasn't," the girl said, taking off her sunglasses. "I only–"_

"_You were, and you know it," Ryan said, cutting her off. "So you can stop denying it. Come on, Sharpay."_

_Sharpay was frozen to her spot, just looking at the girl's face. Her expression was stricken, she suddenly looked twelve, just staring at them as Ryan grabbed Sharpay's wrist, tugging her back to where his friends was sitting._

"_Unbelievable," he kept saying, and as Sharpay looked across the pool she could see Taylor watching her, confused, as Ryan pulled her down on his chair with him when he sat down. Troy, who was laying across the chair beside them, sat up when he saw the twins approaching._

"_What happened?" he asked, and as Ryan started to tell him, Sharpay glanced back at the snack bar, but the girl was nowhere in sight. All her stuff was still on the chair she'd been sitting at-at towel, her shoes, a tote bag, a magazine. Sharpay kept waiting for her to come back and get her stuff, but she never did. _

_Her things stayed there all afternoon: all the way up until the lifeguard blew his final whistle, announcing closing time. At this point, Sharpay had already gone back over to sit with Taylor. Ryan had left a while earlier because he had piano lessons. _

_As Sharpay and Taylor packed up their stuff and walked around the edge of the pool, Sharpay glanced at the girl's forgotten stuff. She knew this girl wasn't her problem. She'd been mean to her for no reason, twice, and therefore was not deserving of her pity or her help. But as they passed the chair, Taylor stopped. "We can't just leave this," she said, bending over to gather up the belongings and stuff them into the bag. "I know where she lives. Her and her mom moved into the Daughtrys' old house. It's on our way home."_

_Sharpay could've argued the point, but any argument she made would've just made her sound like a bitch. "Yeah, okay," she said finally. Not that Taylor had been waiting for her approval, she already the girl's bag swung of her shoulder._

_When they got to Mr. and Mrs. Daughtry's old house, Sharpay was relieved to see that all the windows were dark and that weren't any cars in the driveway. They could just leave the girl's stuff on the porch and be done with it. As Taylor bent down to set the bag against the front door, it opened, and there she was. And when she saw Sharpay, her face flushed._

"_Hi," Taylor said, after an awkward silence. "We brought your stuff."_

_The girl just looked at her like she didn't understand what she was saying. Sharpay leaned over and picked up the bag, handing it to her. The girl looked at the bag, then up at Sharpay. "Oh," she said, reaching for it. "Thanks."_

"_Honey?" A voice from inside the house called out. "Is someone there?"_

"_It's fine, mom," she said over her shoulder. Then she came out to the porch, shutting the door behind her. She quickly moved past Sharpay and Taylor, but not before Sharpay noticed her eyes were red and swollen-she'd been crying. _

"_Look," Sharpay said, suddenly feeling really guilty. "About my brother. He was just–"_

"_It's fine," the girl said, cutting her off. "I'm fine." As she said it, her voice cracked, just slightly, and then she turned her back to them. _

_Sharpay just stood there, not knowing what to do. She looked to Taylor for guidance, and saw she was digging into her pocket to pull out a pack of tissue. She drew one out, and reached around the girl, handing it to her. A second later, the girl took it, and softly pressed to her face._

"_I'm Taylor," Taylor said. "This is Sharpay."_

_After a few moments, she turned around, no longer crying, to face them. "I'm Gabriella."_

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><p><strong><em>In case, you didn't figure it out. The italicized part was a flashback. ;]<em>**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Yay! I did you all a favor and updated really quickly this time! :) This chapter is kinda short, though._**

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><p>For the first two weeks of school, Gabriella ignored Sharpay completely. And when she did finally begin to speak to her, Sharpay realized quickly that she much preferred the silence.<p>

"Whore."

It was always just one word. It was always spoken clearly and with plenty of sting. Sometimes it came from behind her when she didn't expect it. Other times, she could see her coming. The moment Sharpay started to have a half-decent moment in an okay day, Gabriella was there to make sure it didn't last.

This time, Sharpay was standing at her locker as Gabriella passed her on her way to fifth period. Taylor was with her—Taylor was always with her these days—and Sharpay didn't look at them, instead focusing on trying to find her math book.

It hadn't been that long ago that she'd been the one who walked alongside Gabriella while she did her dirty work. She was the one who, while not directly taking part in the slur, didn't stop it, either. And as much as she hated being a party in Gabriella's slander, she knew Taylor probably hated it ten times more. Taylor wasn't mean to people, ever.

But it wasn't as if Taylor had much of a choice in the matter. Because with Gabriella, it was all or nothing. There was no in between. You were either with her or against her. And while it was hard being friends with her, being on her bad side was much, much worse. Taylor knew this, of course. So even though Sharpay had been friend first, it was safer to side with Gabriella.

And Taylor wasn't the only one siding with her. The entire East High student body still seemed to be going out of their way to make Sharpay feel ostracized. In fact, there was only person who'd shown any interest in associating with her at all, and she hadn't even had a chance to talk to him since the first day back. The problem was, they didn't have any classes together. And whenever Sharpay did happen to see him in the hall, he was usually heading towards the cafeteria. Which was bad, because she had already pretty much vowed on never going in there.

Ironically, though, Sharpay had four classes with Gabriella. The universe was clearly working against her, and was probably getting a kick out of laughing at her and misfortunes. Sharpay had to admit, sometimes, she felt like laughing at her misfortunes herself. Three months ago, she was on top of the world. How had her life turned into such crap, so quickly?

…

As Sharpay headed down the steps at the main entrance to the parking lot, she was in such a hurry to go home that she didn't even notice the parked red Jeep until she was walking right in front of it.

One minute she was digging through her bag trying to find her car keys; the next, she was glancing up at Will Stryker. And he was staring right at her. She looked away, quickening her pace. She was almost to her car when he called out to her.

"Sharpay."

She knew she should just ignore him. But even as she thought this, her head was already involuntarily turning in his direction.

"Hey," he said, nodding at her. She was close enough to his car now to hear the radio just barely wafting out of the window.

"Hi," she replied. She attempted to keep her voice level, but it came out all twisted, as it squeezed up her throat.

Will didn't seem to notice any of her nervousness as he reached down to change the radio station, then glanced back over at her. "I haven't seen you around at the parties lately," he said. "You still hanging out?"

Sharpay felt a chill go up her neck, and wondered if she was going to faint. She couldn't look at him, so she kept her eyes down. "No," she managed to say. "Not really."

"Well," he said, "see you around, I guess."

Sharpay nodded, and finally, she was turning back around and walking away. She took a breath, trying to remind herself that she was surrounded by people, safe. But then she felt it: her stomach gurgling, its contents rising up. _Oh my god_, she thought, quickly lifting her hand and holding it over her mouth. She moved swiftly towards the nearest building, praying that she could hold it together until she got to the bathroom.

"What was _that_?"

It was Gabriella. She was right behind her. Sharpay stopped walking, but the bile kept rising.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Sharpay?" she said, loudly, as if trying to make sure everyone within a five mile radius would hear her, even though Sharpay was less than two feet away. "Didn't you get enough that night? You need more or something?"

Two freshman girls scurried past them, their eyes wide. Sharpay tighten her hand around her the strap of her bag, and tried to swallow. After so many times of Gabriella just saying one word to her, to hear her saying so much now was overwhelming.

She started to moved forward again. _Don't get sick, don't look back, just keep walking_, she kept telling herself.

"Don't you ignore me," Gabriella was saying now. "Turn around!" She reached out grabbed Sharpay's shoulder.

Before she knew what she was doing, Sharpay whirled around and pushed her away, knocking her backwards. Gabriella lost her footing, then caught herself quickly, her eyes wide.

"Oh my god," she said, her voice low. "You better—"

There was a huge crowd around them now. Above it, they could hear Mr. Sandoval, the freshman English teacher, approaching. "Break it up," he called out. "Everybody, disperse."

Gabriella took a step closer to Sharpay. "Stay away from my boyfriend, you whore," she said, followed by a low _oooooh_ from the bystanders. Then stepped forward, hitting Sharpay's shoulder with her own as she brushed past her. Everyone was staring as Gabriella pushed through the crowd, and as soon as she was out of sight, their eyes all turned to Sharpay.

She moved through the bodies around her, pulling her hand back over her mouth. She could hear people laughing, talking, as the crowd took Mr. Sandoval's warning and started to give way, and she finally reached the edge. The main building was right in front of her. She ran toward it, but only made it as far as the row of tall bushes that around it. She couldn't only hope she was out of sight as she bent over, one hand clutching her stomach, and threw up in the grass.

Her skin felt clammy, and when she finished, there were tears in her eyes. It was horrible and embarrassing, and one of those moments when want nothing more than be alone. She vaguely heard someone's footsteps behind her, but didn't look up, hoping that whoever it was would just keep walking.

But they didn't.

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><p><strong><em>Cliffhanger! Who's behind Sharpay, hm? ;)<em>**


	5. Chapter 5

"Sharpay."

She turned to see Troy Bolton standing over her, his hand reaching out for her. She extend her own hand out to him, letting him fold his fingers over hers and pull her to her feet. She stood up steadily for about two seconds before her head went light and she started to stumble.

"Whoa," Troy said, reaching out to keep her balanced. "Maybe you should sit down."

He eased her over to the steps on the side of the building, and sat her down on the bottom step. He dropped his backpack down next to her, and then he was crouching down beside it, reaching in and digging around. He pulled out a pack of tissues, holding it out for Sharpay.

She reached out and carefully extracted one tissue from the pack.

"You can have the whole pack, if you want," Troy offered.

"No, it's okay," Sharpay asserted, as she dabbed her eyes with the tissue. She tried not to cringe at how hoarse her voice sounded. "One is fine." Despite her protests, Troy set the pack down on her lap anyway. She glanced down at it, and then looked up at him. "Thank you."

"No problem." Troy slid down and sat beside his backpack. "So, are you okay?"

Sharpay nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I just… I don't know. I felt sick all of the sudden."

"I saw what happened with Gabriella."

"Oh." Sharpay could felt her face flush. She wondered if she was going to get sick again. "Yeah... That was pretty bad, huh?"

Troy shrugged. "I think it could've been worse."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he said, running his hand through his hair. "You could've punched her."

"Well. There's an idea for next time," Sharpay deadpanned.

Troy smiled at her. That smile that's been making girls' hearts melt since around the eighth grade, when they all started noticing how strikingly handsome Troy was, even at fourteen.

Sharpay remembered how she had a crush on him, but it was weird, because he was friends with Ryan, and he would sleep over at their house. She remembered how one night Gabriella was sleeping over, and at the same time, Troy was in Ryan's room across the hall, playing video games. Gabriella kept going in there and flirting with Troy, much to Sharpay's disdain. Then later that night, Gabriella had told Sharpay that she wasn't allowed to like Troy anymore, because "he belonged with her."

"_Troy and Gabriella. Gabriella and Troy_," Gabriella had said to her. "_See how good our names sound together? We're meant to be. It just makes sense_."

Sharpay grimaced at the memory. Gabriella has been trying to ruin her life for much longer than she realized. Fortunately—or rather, unfortunately, if you happen to be Gabriella—Troy never reciprocated Gabriella's interest.

She glanced over at Troy. In the time she'd been reminiscing, he'd pulled out his phone and was messing with it. "Do you need a ride home?" he asked, without looking up at her.

"Oh, no," Sharpay said, quickly. "I have my car. It's in the parking lot."

"But are you okay to drive? You probably still woozy."

Sharpay shook her head fervently. "It's fine. I'm fine." When Troy still didn't look convinced, she switched gears. "I can't just leave my car here."

"I can drive your car. I'll just walk back here after I drop you off. I have to come back for basketball practice anyway."

"But, I, uh…" She ran out of arguments.

Troy stood up, brushing off his jeans. Then he reached down, grabbing his bag, and hoisted it over his shoulder. "Come on."

Sharpay had endured a lot of scrutiny since school started a few weeks ago, but she still wasn't prepared for the looks she got as she and Troy walked up to the parking lot. Every person they passed stared, most of them openly, with a few bursting whispers—"Did you see what happened with her and Gabriella?" "She looked like she was going to hurl." "Oh my God, where is she going with Troy Bolton?"—before she was even out of earshot. She tried to ignore them as she led Troy to her car, handing him her keys. He got behind the wheel, then reached across to open the door for her. She quickly climbed in, pulling her seatbelt over her.

As they started through the parking lot, Troy rolled down his window, resting his arm there, and Sharpay took a look around the interior of her car. The Hello Kitty seat covers, the pink daisy clipped to the dashboard. Plus, it smelled faintly like vanilla. She never realized how girly her car was; she wandered if Troy felt weird driving it.

Just as she thought this, they reached the stop sign at the top of the parking lot and Troy put on the blinker, looking both ways. "So I really appreciate you driving me," Sharpay said. "You know, you really didn't have to."

"No problem."

For a moment, they rode in silence. Except for the low sound of a Katy Perry song playing on the radio. Sharpay had this feeling like she should attempt to make conversation. "So," she said, after a while. "how's basketball going?"

"It could be better," Troy said. "Things were good last season, and we were hoping to be in the state championships this year. But then Chad got kicked off the team, so that set us back a bit. And now, I'm out a co-captain."

"Chad's not on the team anymore?"

"No." He slowed up for an upcoming stop sign. "Coach suspended him. He got in a fight with one of the West High guys, after our last game."

Sharpay nodded. She vaguely recalled hearing Marissa Blackwood say something Chad being in a fight, when she was sitting next to her in English class. Marissa was one of the most gossipy girls at East High, and she had a special talent for starting rumors that spread like wildfire. Sharpay learned to take everything Marissa said with a grain of salt, because at least 75 percent of the stuff she said was usually inaccurate. The story about Chad, though, evidently fell into other 25 percent. "Oh, right. I heard."

"You heard?" Troy repeated.

Sharpay nodded again. "Sort of."

"So why'd you ask?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Do you believe everything you hear?"

"No," he said. Then he looked at her for a moment, before turning back to the road. "No, I don't."

Sharpay frowned. So she apparently wasn't the only one who had being hearing rumors. She wasn't sure why she'd thought it was actually possible that he hadn't heard anyway. She took a breath and said, "It's not true, if that's what's you were wondering."

He was downshifting, the engine grinding as they slowed to take a corner. "What isn't?"

"The rumors. The stuff you've heard about me."

Troy looked at her, bewildered. "I haven't heard anything about you."

Sharpay shook her head in disbelief. "Yeah, right."

"I haven't," he said. "I'd tell you if I had."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'd ask you about it. Like you just did, about Chad."

"Right," she accepted. They were driving down Sharpay's street now. Up ahead, she could see her house, a yellow car was parked in front of it.

"Troy," she said as they turned into the house's driveway. "I'd like to apologize in advance."

"Apologize? For what?"

She looked out the window and sighed. "My mother."

Darby Evans was out on the front lawn, tending to her small garden. She'd started walking toward the door when the car pulled up, then stopped when she saw Troy in the driver's seat. "Troy! Troy Bolton! I haven't seen you in so long!" she exclaimed, sounding chipper as always. Sharpay groaned inwardly as she climbed out of the car.

"Hi, Mrs. Evans," Troy greeted her, getting out of the car and letting Sharpay's mother envelop him into a hug. Troy used to spend a lot of time at their house, when he was in middle school and he was best friends with Ryan. He and Ryan had since grown apart, when Troy started hanging out more with his basketball friends. They were still friends now, but it wasn't the same.

"Troy, you've known me forever. You can call me Darby," she beamed, as she let him go. "Will you be joining us for dinner?"

"No." Troy shook his head. "I was just dropping Sharpay off. I need to get back to school for basketball practice."

"But how will you get there?" Darby questioned, looking troubled. "You drove Sharpay's car here."

Troy shrugged. "I can walk."

"Unacceptable." She shook her head vigorously. "I'll drive you."

"Gee, Mrs. Ev- I mean, _Darby_. That won't be necessary."

Darby brushed off his protests. "I have to go to the post office, anyway. I'll drop you off on my way. Just wait here, I'll go get my keys." With that, she turned on her heel and hurried towards the front door.

"Well," Sharpay spoke up, a moment after her mother disappeared into the house. "Thanks for the ride. For everything."

"No problem," Troy said, as Sharpay's mother swiftly appeared back outside with her car keys in hand. "See you at school?"

Sharpay nodded. "Yeah, definitely."

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><p><strong><em>This chapter was pretty uneventful. ~<em>**

**_the next chapter will be a bit more entertaining (I hope)._**


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